


All Roads

by thefarofixer



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everybody Lives, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-17 00:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14821580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefarofixer/pseuds/thefarofixer
Summary: Stiles ends up spending half the summer pestering Derek about werewolf facts, and the other half avoiding him to keep up his new resolution to not act like a creep around hot people.





	All Roads

**Author's Note:**

> This work was written for Solstice, a sterek charity zine. It was super fun to get back into writing for these two characters I love so much after such a long time. Thanks for reading!

When Stiles turns sixteen he decides it’s time to start fresh. For starters, he decides, he’s learned his lesson with Lydia. She’s actually started talking to him this year, about school and colleges and instead of having all of his years of Lydia-worship validated and moving his five year plan forward, he realizes that he really likes that they’re friends. 

It’s a lesson he’s glad he learned and he decides he’s done with hopelessly pining over someone who is way out of his league and unlikely to ever return his romantic feelings. This pledge to himself goes well for about a year until the end of his Junior year. And then three things happen in quick succession. 

Stiles accidentally saves Derek Hale’s life. Stiles falls in love with Derek. Derek is suddenly irrevocably entwined in Stiles’ life. 

Stiles has peripherally known of Derek Hale his whole life. The Hales are ‘pillars of the community’ and Derek’s sister Cora is in Stiles’ grade, and you don’t just have a family that attractive and that rich in town without knowing a little bit about them. Sometimes there are town events that the Hales are at because they probably funded them, and Stiles is there too because his dad is the Sheriff, but mostly Stiles has avoided them. There are _a lot_ of Hales, and after Stiles’ small family of three is downsized to two, a big well known family seems too overwhelming for him to tangle with. 

So he knows a few things about Derek, just due to general osmosis of town gossip, but not too much. Derek is a few years older than Stiles and drives a shiny black sports car. Derek is a basketball star, a decent student, a mama’s boy. He’s also ‘such a nice, polite young man” which is something that has not, nor probably ever will be said about the Sheriff’s semi-delinquent son. 

Overall, he and Derek just don’t seem to be fated to ever spend time together. It isn’t something Stiles would care about if he thought about it at all. Which he doesn’t. 

And then he hits Derek with his car. 

In his defense, Derek is the one who staggers out into the road in front of Stiles’ Jeep, close enough that no matter how fast and how hard Stiles slams on the brakes, he can’t stop in time. And with a screeching of brakes and a godawful thump Stiles is convinced he’s killed someone. 

Stiles jumps frantically out of the Jeep, cell phone in hand ready to dial 911. When he rounds the front bumper, the guy he hit is already halfway upright, leaning against the front of the Jeep. He looks up and Stiles distantly notes that it’s Derek Hale, recent high school graduate and local golden boy. 

“Holy shit I thought you were dead,” Stiles exhales shakily, kneeling down next to him. “Are you okay? You got hit by a car, I know you’re not okay, but like, are you ‘I’m bruised’ not okay or like ‘I’m about to die’ not okay? Either way, I’m going to call an ambulance, hang on.” 

“No ambulance,” Derek grits out. 

“Dude, I have to call an...oh holy shit,” Stiles falls back on his butt and drops his cell phone because Derek has lunged forward to grab the front of Stiles’ shirt. 

“No ambulance,” Derek repeats. 

“This is the beginning of a horror movie,” Stiles says faintly. Because Derek is pale and sweaty, and has black veins crawling up the side of his neck. If Derek is a zombie and he bites Stiles, Stiles will be _pissed_. He doesn’t even have his baseball bat with him. 

“Home,” Derek grunts out. “You need to drive me home.” 

“Uh,” Stiles begins, but Derek is a lot bigger than Stiles and Stiles _did_ hit him with his car. “Okay. Home. You live out in the Preserve, right?” 

”Yeah,” Derek grunts. 

“You gonna tell me what’s going on here?” Stiles asks. “Like, that vein shit is not normal and if you die on me I am going to be in so much trouble.” 

“Poison,” Derek says as the Jeep finally screeches to a stop in front of the house. “Antidote is inside.” 

“Ugh, I knew I should have brought you to the hospital,” Stiles gripes. Derek responds by opening the Jeep’s door and falling out face first onto the driveway below. Stiles rushes over, struggling to drape Derek’s arm around his shoulders and drag him upright. 

“Can we get some help here?” Stiles shouts as he tries to drag Derek up the steps. 

“Nobody’s home,” Derek says. They run into a slight problem when they reach the front door because it turns out Derek doesn’t have his keys. Derek nods toward one of the front windows, and Stiles enjoys it a little too much as he takes one of the porch chairs and smashes through the window. It’s hard dragging Derek through but they make it. As soon as they’re inside Stiles lets Derek collapse onto the hall floor. 

“Okay what now,” Stiles asks urgently. The black veins seem to be spreading, and Derek seems like he’s fading. Derek directs Stiles to a wooden chest full of small glass vials with various liquids and herbs in it, and Stiles shows them to Derek until they find the right one, full of withered purple flowers. 

“Okay now burn the aconite,” Derek says. 

“Aconite?” Stiles exclaims. “Dude that stuff is super poisonous.” 

“I know,” Derek grits out. “Just burn the damn wolfsbane and mix it with some kind of liquid I can drink.” 

“This does not seem medically kosher,” Stiles shouts as he runs into the kitchen. He finds a pack of matches and quickly lights up the aconite on the counter. He grabs a glass, filling it with liquid from a bottle in fridge, then hastily adds the ashes. 

He runs back into the hallway, skidding to the floor next to Derek. He seems barely conscious, and Stiles has to prop him up in his arms so he can dribble the liquid into his mouth as fast as he can without drowning the guy. 

Once he swallows the concoction, Derek’s back arches and he cries out, eyes flashing gold, fangs descending from his gums, claws popping from his fingers. 

Stiles jerks back, dropping Derek to the floor. The hallway isn’t huge though so Stiles is only a foot or two away from Derek as he writhes, his face gone monstrous even as the black veins that had covered his skin fade. Soon Derek is back to looking like a normal, sweaty human being, lying panting on the floor. He glances over at Stiles. 

“So werewolves…?” Stiles says at the exact moment that Derek says “Was that Mountain Dew?” 

“It was the easiest thing to grab in the fridge,” Stiles says. 

“Tap water would have been fine,” Derek says, but he looks faintly amused. “You’re not freaking out.” 

“I am totally freaking out,” Stiles says. “I hit you with my Jeep after you got poisoned. This is literally the craziest thing that has ever happened to me.” 

“You’re not freaking out about the werewolf thing is what I meant,” Derek says. 

“Honestly, it kind of explains some things,” Stiles says. “I always knew the Hales were weird but I figured you were part of the mob? This is much cooler. Also, who the hell poisoned you with _wolfsbane_.” 

“I was dating someone,” Derek says, his face falling. “Turns out she was a hunter. A human who hunts werewolves.” 

“Werewolf hunters,” Stiles says. “Why not.” 

“I need to call my mom,” Derek says, struggling up. “If there are hunters around the pack needs to be warned.” 

“And I’m calling my dad,” Stiles says, helping Derek upright. 

“You can’t do that,” Derek says. 

“Dude, somebody tried to kill you,” Stiles says. “And my dad is the Sheriff. Dealing with attempted murders is _literally his job_.” 

“He generally doesn’t deal with werewolves, does he,” Derek says. 

“No, but you said she was human,” Stiles says. “You can’t just kill her, and we can’t let her get away with this. We need to call my dad.” 

“Look, the first thing we learn is to keep what we are a secret,” Derek says. “It’s bad enough you found out. And without proof I was poisoned there’s no way for your dad to arrest Kate anyways.” 

“And I’m guessing if you’re someone who hunts werewolves you probably have a shitton of weapons some of which won’t be legal in California,” Stiles points out. “So my dad picks her up on something like that.” 

“You can’t guarantee that,” Derek shakes his head. 

“Look, my dad might freak out a little at first, but he’s a good man,” Stiles says. “And having the Sheriff on your side would be helpful. How about I call my dad over, and we let your mom be the one who tells him.” 

“Fine,” Derek sighs. 

“Great,” Stiles says. “Oh and I’m Stiles by the way.” 

“I’m Derek. I’d say nice to meet you, but none of this has been nice,” Derek says. “But thank you for saving my life. Even though you hit me with your car first.” 

“Ungrateful,” Stiles says, shaking his head, but he can’t help but smile. 

The aftermath is a whirlwind. Talia Hale, an Alpha werewolf, seems mostly unphased by Derek and Stiles’ explanation of what happened, but she thanks Stiles for saving her son. Stiles’ dad shows up soon after that, and after a little coaxing, Talia grudgingly lets the Sheriff in on their secret, flashing eyes and fangs as proof. There’s some shouting and confusion, but eventually everyone calms down enough for them to go over their story _again_. 

Things move quickly from there. A man named Chris Argent is called and shows up and with his help, his sister Kate is arrested on a number of weapons and intent to harm charges. Once she’s been locked up and Talia, Chris and the Sheriff form a coalition to keep the town safe, things go basically back to normal. 

Kind of. The thing is, now that Stiles knows about werewolves the Hales seem to be on a mission to adopt the Stilinski family into their own. Stiles gets used to being invited over for dinner but has a harder time figuring out how to act around Derek. He ends up spending half the summer pestering Derek about werewolf facts, and the other half avoiding him to keep up his new resolution to not act like a creep around hot people. And Derek _is_ hot. That’s not Stiles’ opinion, that’s just an objective fact. 

It’s a slight relief when Derek goes back to college in the fall. Starting his senior year of high school is a bit strange anyways and he doesn’t need Derek around confusing him more. Fall semester flies by, and although Stiles is busy with his own life, with classes, college applications, friends, and the other Hales, he soon begins to miss Derek. He hears about him from the Hales of course, but it’s not the same. Derek skips coming home for Thanksgiving, so it’s not until winter break that Stiles sees him again. And while he’d realized he’d missed Derek, it’s not until they’re face to face at the Hale Family holiday party that Stiles realizes just how much. 

Derek always looks good, but in the warm glow of Christmas lights while wearing a cozy green sweater that brings out his eyes he’s the best thing Stiles has ever seen. Derek doesn’t seem to have any of the hesitations Stiles is feeling though because he tugs Stiles into a close hug, letting Stiles tuck his face against Derek’s warm neck for a full minute before they break apart. 

“You grew your hair out,” Derek says, reaching out to tug at one of the longer locks. Stiles bats his hand away. 

“Yeah,” Stiles says. 

“I used to use too much product in mine too,” Derek teases. 

“Thanks for the advice, you’re a real life saver,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. 

“I guess that makes us even then,” Derek says, the corner of his mouth curling up and a warm, intimate expression on his face. Stiles feels like all the sound in the room fades away, like it’s just the two of them left. 

“Yeah and what’s that growing on your face then?” Stiles asks. 

“What, you don’t like my beard?” Derek asks. 

_Like_ doesn’t begin to cover how Stiles feels, he thinks. 

Stiles’ heart skips a beat. 

“You okay?” Derek asks, looking up. 

“Fine,” Stiles says faintly. Well crap. 

Which is how Stiles realizes he’s in love with Derek. 

If Stiles was awkward around Derek to start with, now that he knows he’s in love with him he’s even worse. They spend most of winter break together, although Stiles begs off New Year’s Eve since he has plans with friends. When Derek goes back to school Stiles gets a little distance from him, but also Derek starts texting Stiles regularly, and he can’t _not_ text back. Whenever he goes too long without answering, one of the other Hales ask him if something is wrong because apparently Derek asks about him. 

Which only makes the ache in his chest from missing Derek increases tenfold. 

Derek invites Stiles to visit him in New York for spring break, opting to show Stiles the city versus traveling somewhere warm with friends and partying. Both Stiles’ dad and Talia encourage him to go, to Stiles’ disbelief, and beyond self preservation he can’t come up with a good excuse why he shouldn’t. 

It’s the best/worst thing that’s ever happened to him. NYC is a cool city, but beyond that, spending every day with Derek is exquisite torture. Derek seems genuinely happy to have him, showing Stiles all his favorite places. It’s like all of Stiles’ wildest dreams come true, except every time Derek looks at him with heat in his eyes or they lean in close, and Stiles thinks _maybe_ , Derek always pulls away first, and Stiles’ brief hope turns out to be wishful thinking. 

When he gets home, Stiles firms his resolve. He can’t keep doing this to himself, getting too close to people who are out of his league. He thought he’d learned his lesson but here he is again. He decides that this summer when Derek is back, he’ll have to just back off, for both their sakes, until he can get his feelings under control. 

This turns out to be harder than expected. Even if he avoids going to the Hale’s house, he runs into them all over town and they’re increasingly pushy about why he hasn’t been over lately. While Stiles and his dad do spend an evening with the Hales when Derek first gets back, afterward Stiles tries to make himself scarce and judging from the increasingly worried texts from Derek, he’s noticed. 

Eventually he thinks maybe he should just bite the bullet and tell Derek how he feels. Maybe rejection is what he needs to move on. 

He drives about halfway to the Hale house before he chickens out and turns around. Driving home he recognizes the curve in the road where he’d hit Derek with his Jeep. He can’t regret meeting Derek, saving his life and knowing him. 

Stiles’ Jeep makes an alarming grinding noise, then stutters and dies. He manages to slowly roll to a halt by the side of the road. He gets out and pops open the hood of the Jeep. Staring into it tells him nothing, and he’s relieved when he hears a car pull up behind him. Turning he sees Derek getting out of the Camaro. Stiles feels a burst of excitement and warmth, then anxiety because he doesn’t know what to say. 

“Of all the roads in all the world,” Derek jokes as he walks up to Stiles. “Car trouble?” 

“Yeah I’m not sure what’s wrong,” Stiles admits as Derek peers down at the engine. 

“I could probably fix it, but not without tools,” Derek says, leaning back out and closing the hood. “Let me drive you home.” 

“You don’t have to do that, I can call my dad,” Stiles protests. Derek gives him a long searching look. 

“If you can’t even stand spend ten minutes in a car with me, okay,” Derek says. 

“It’s not like that,” Stiles says. 

“What is it then? Because you’ve been avoiding me for weeks,” Derek says. 

“No, I haven’t,” Stiles says. 

“I’ve been trying to give you space, and if you tell me to I’ll back off, I just want to know if I’d done something wrong,” Derek says. 

“No, look, it’s _me_ ,” Stiles says. “I know how I get about the people I fall for and I promised myself I’d do better this time. I was trying not to overwhelm you. I know I can be too much.” 

“Do I seem overwhelmed to you?” Derek asks. 

“No,” Stiles admits. “Half the time you’re the one who asks to spend time with me, and you always call me out on my shit.” 

“So then what’s the problem,” Derek asks. 

“I was...afraid,” Stiles admits. “That things would change between us. That you wouldn’t want to spend time with me anymore.” 

“So instead you...stopped spending time with me?” Derek says. 

“Well I never claimed to be rational,” Stiles says with a laugh that Derek echoes. “You know there were a couple times in New York where I thought maybe you felt the same, but you didn’t say anything. I convinced myself I’d imagined it.” 

“I wanted to, but you were still seventeen,” Derek says. “By like a month,” Stiles points out. “I wouldn’t have cared.” 

“Your Sheriff father might have,” Derek says. “Also I didn’t want your choice of college to be influenced by a new relationship.” 

“You really think I would have picked a school in New York just to be near to you?” Stiles asks. 

“Would you?” Derek says. 

“Maybe,” Stiles admits reluctantly. Right now being as close to Derek as possible seems like an amazing idea, but he knows he’d regret not going to the program at George Washington University. 

“New York and DC aren’t so far away,” Derek says. “I know people say long distance is a bad idea but it’s not impossible.” 

“It’s a four hour train ride,” Stiles says. 

“You’re worth it. So what do you say?” Derek says, holding out a hand between them. “Are you willing to take a chance?” 

“Yeah,” Stiles says. He takes Derek’s hand in his own, stepping forward so they’re inches away. Derek closes the final distance, gently pressing his lips to Stiles’, one hand twined in Stiles’ hair. When Derek pulls back they both blink as though coming out of a trance. 

“I think you’re worth all the chances in the world,” Stiles says. And as Derek leans back in to kiss him, standing in the spot where they met, Stiles thinks maybe he’s learned the best lesson of all, that if it’s meant to be, love will find a way.


End file.
